final ch next


Kagome sat at the base of her weeping willow tree once more, still the age of a toddler. She sighed heavily, looking over the field of flowers, admiring the beauty of nature. This was such a nice place; she wouldn't mind staying here forever... where was she exactly?

" This is the core of your soul." a soft voice answered the never spoken question.

Kagome turned, seeing a person materialize beside her. She raised a brow, it looked like an older version of herself. She laughed softly, " This must be a dream."

The older Kagome stretched her arms above her head, " Not a dream." she said, leaning back on to the sturdy bark of the trunk, " I pulled you here before. I tried to kill you to save the world."

Younger Kagome made a face, she didn't remember any of that but it did feel like something important happened here, " What's wrong with the world?"

" Its dying."

" That sucks." The younger girl glanced over, " Did my mom send you?"

" What?"

She just shrugged, " To kill me, I mean. She always said I would be doing the world a favor if I dropped dead."

The older Kagome sat up, turning to fully look at the younger version of her, " Do you know what you are?"

The child's face looked confusion, " A girl?"

The elder Kagome smiled at the young innocence, " You are the loneliness of this soul. The pain and suffering and sadness that has built up from years of neglect."

Her small face tilted, trying to understand what the bigger her was saying, " I'm not lonely, I have Man."

" He attached himself to you because he is just as sad and just as angry."

" I don't understand."

" He wants only you Kagome, he wants to destroy everyone so no one can take you from him. He wants to take you from this world and bring you to his home in hell so that you will always need him. So that you can never leave him."

The small made a face, seriously thinking over what was being said, she shook her small head, staring into the eyes of her elder. Her voice a whisper, " Is that so bad?"

Her eyes watered and she wiped at silent tears, " I don't have any friends. My mom hates me for being born. My dad ignores me for my sister."

She sniffled, staring out across the field, " Would it be so bad to go with him. Man is my only friend. He loves me. He needs me."

A hand touched her shoulder, making her small face look over to the older version of herself. " He is not the only one that needs you."

The toddler opened her mouth to ask what did she mean, but a sudden light on the horizon blinded her. She turned away, feeling a strong gust of wind whip at her face. Shielding her eyes she stood, realizing she was no longer in the clearing. She was by a pond, much like the man cave. The water was thick and bubbling tar, that moaned and groaned as shadow hands pulled away from the sticky substance. There was a small plateau in the middle of the pond she didn't notice before but the same three small blue flames were there, forcing the shadows away with there heat.

The small Kagome stepped forward to get a better look, but jumped back as a gooey hand tried to grab her.

" This is Man, the parts you don't see."

The young child turned, seeing her elder self behind her. She watched as she came closer to stand by her side, " What do you mean?"

The older Kagome just stared at the pool of darkness, " This is Man's hate. His obsession for you."

The small Kagome looked back at the pool, " What's the fire?"

" Those flames are love. It's what Man wants to kill so that you will never leave him." A hand rested on the small girl's shoulder, " Can't you see it?"

Blue eyes glanced up at the bigger her, then back to the pool. She squinted her, the elder her was right, she did see something. She leaned forward a bit more, cautious of the hands reaching over the edge of the pool. Inside the flames was a picture of a face.

She blinked, her heart racing in her chest, " Sesshomaru." she shook her head, " He looks hurt."

The elder Kagome bent so she was at eye level with her younger self, " You found acceptance in your team, you found affection in your Baba, and you found love in a demon lord. Man is going to take all of that away from you."

She grabbed her face, making sure she was listening, " You have to make a decision Kagome. Who will you protect? Love or loneliness?"

Tears touched her blue eyes, " But Man will..." she glanced to the pool, those flames won't last long against the shadows. She didn't want to hurt Man, he was her best friend, her only friend. He's been there her entire life; he made her laugh, held her when she cried, was always by her side.

She shook her head, " I love Man." she turned fully towards the pool, her small fists balled tight. She let the tears flow as she made a decision, her voice a pained whisper, " I love him." she took a deep breath, " But I can't let Sesshomaru die."

With a wild scream, she launched herself forward, diving into the pool. Her powers burned away the tar but not fast enough. Hands grabbed at her, trying to slow her down, but she fought the pull, pushing power into her arms and legs. She struggled to keep afloat, inching through the slime towards the flames.

She could see scenes of her time with her loved one, his smiles and laughter, his eyes watching her with nothing but admiration. She screamed as she struggled harder, determination in every stroke, I won't let you die, she whispered in her head. She ignored the clawing hands tearing at her skin, trying to pull her under.

Almost there! She reached for the flames with an open palm, " SES!"


Man laughed with glee as he blasted Sesshomaru across the cave. This was more fun than he had since the night Naraku invaded. He turned to his purpose in life and saw the god's creation on top of her still chanting away.

With a smirk he walked over, " Your resistance is admirable but stupid. No one can defeat me."

He reached forward and pulled the chanting man off his host, blasting him across the cave like the others. Gruff landed with a hard thud but hurried to his feet, " Leave her alone!"

Man laughed, " I can do whatever I want with my property." he said, reaching for the sleeping child but was stopped by a blue barrier. He frowned, glancing to his hand, his fingers singed red by the sting. That's new, he turned, seeing Souta sitting, eyes closed, glowing the same blue as the barrier. He raised a brow, who in the hell was this kid and how did he possess the powers of his host.

He walked over to the teen, but Gruff cut him off, blocking his view. Man just crossed his arms seeing the immortal willing to risk it all to protect the kid. " Let me guess, his parents were having trouble conceiving and you blessed them with a child?"

Gruff just took a stance, " It's the way of the gods."

Man shook his head, " So they made a duplicate of Kagome in hopes he will save her. Is that it? A hero for the hero."

" He is here because of what she is and he will always be the best of what's in her."

Man frowned, " He can only delay me."

" That's all we need." Gruff said, launching forward in an attack. They were almost invisible with the speed they were moving. The fight was intense, each blow bone crushing and brutal. The two auras were clashing together in bright colors of black and green.

Sesshomaru woke with a start, his teeth clenched as he tried to bite back the pain in chest. White spots danced in front of his eyes, he knew he was losing too much blood. Slowly he sat up, hand covering the hole in his stomach.

Amber eyes took in the scene, his father and Suki were still knocked unconscious, face down on the grass. Gruff was putting all he got into fighting the entity while Souta kept Kagome safe behind a powerful barrier.

He groaned, struggling to his knees, how were they going to win this, he could barely stand. A glint irritated his eyes, making his squint. Turning he saw he was close to the pond, he looked closer, something shining was causing a glare in the water.

Gruff leaped forward, attacking, nevertheless, quickly he found all his slashes blocked and returned with fever. This battle was fierce, one of the toughest he ever head and he trained with gods. This entity was trying to kill him and actually had the ability to do so. He jumped back to catch his breath.

They stared each other down. Feeling the tension flow through there veins. His eyes set in determination, relaxing into a stance. Then, without warning, he flew forward with a flurry of attacks that Man was quick to block and counter. He didn't let up on his attack, and tried another kick, though Man blocked it as he did the others. Their attacks was fast and brutal. Sparks flying, bodies heating. There can only be one winner.

They locked fists. Anger building in his green electric gaze, his eyes switching to blue as he gained more power. Man lips curved into a frown, the immortal was calling on his creator for strength. No more playing around he thought and with a powerful twist, he sent Gruff flying to the ground.

He coughed as all the air left his lungs, Man stood over him, planting a foot on his mid-back, " You almost had me for a second."

He pushed down, his foot a boulder on his back, " I honestly thought you were going to be a real problem in my plans."

Man stomped on his back, " Too bad.. " He stomped again, " This was." Stomp. "Just." Stomp. "Getting." Stomp. "Fun."

Gruff bit his tongue1 to not give the entity the satisfaction of hearing him scream. He stomped on his back with such force Gruff was coughing up blood.

Man laughed at the violence, he can smell the pain in the air, such a husky scent. A snap of his fingers and his giant weapon appeared in his hand, the red scythe large and intimidating. He twisted his weapon with ease, the spear head at the end long and sharpened to a stabbing point, " Okay, now its time to die."

He raised his weapon higher, grinning at the pain to come; Gruff closed his eyes, accepting the inevitable. There was a sharp stabbing sound and he flinched but didn't feel any pain. He looked up and smiled. Mini me chose well, was he first thought. Sesshomaru stood behind Man, So'unga in hand and protruding through the front of the entity's chest.

With swift effort, he pulled the sword out and with a pivot he took the head off the entity. The body fell over, letting up the pressure on Gruff's back. With a groan, he slowly stood up, he looked to the head of the monster that was once controlling his daughter.

He laughed, slapping Sesshomaru's shoulder, " Atta boy!"

The inu demon rolled said shoulder, " That hurts."

Gruff laughed even harder, " Let's get the hell outta here."

Sesshomaru nodded, he need to rest to heal the whole in his chest, turning he glanced over to his wife's younger brother. A hand cupped his mouth, " It's done, drop the barrier."

Souta stayed put, sweat dotting his forehead, he knew he couldn't open his eyes without losing focus, " How do I know you are who you sound like."

Sesshomaru raised a brow, " Kagome showed me the videos of what you and your friends were doing in that suite I put you in."

Souta blinked, the barrier dropping, " She did?!"

Gruff laughed, Tashio and Suki were finally coming too, the immortal smiled, this was going to be a good day after all. Tashio gingerly got to his feet, taking the sword from his son and letting him lean on his shoulder for support, " Let's get you to a doctor."

Sesshomaru just nodded, he lost too much blood and was feeling the effects now that his adrenaline was running out. Suki stood, grabbing his head, " What truck hit me?" he asked, groggily.

Gruff laughed as he turned to his daughter, Souta stood, stumbled then righted himself, he used a lot more of his power than he expected. " How do we get her to age back to 24?"

Gruff shrugged, walking over to the sleeping child, " We'll figure it out later."

He bent to pick her up as the others headed to the entrance of the cave. A deep voice echoed through the cave, " Thanks for that, it's been a long time since I got to see home."

They all turned, the wings on the headless body flapped, standing. Arms reached for the head on the ground and placed it back in its proper spot.

The slice healed and Man grinned rolling his neck, " That was fun. But now you die."

He swung his scythe and a wave of power clashed through the cave. The blast sent everyone flying in all directions. Sesshomaru floated in the pond he landed in, a ringing in his ears, his vision a blur. He tried to move but his body was shut down, he lost too much blood and had no energy left.

A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him out the water, he could make out the hair of his father but that was it. There was noise but there was nothing louder than the ringing. His vision didn't get better, he could make out shadows moving and bodies fighting. His father was saying something, smacking his face, he felt the sting but it felt far away.

" SES!"

He blinked, what was that? He heard his name, was someone calling him? Blue flames erupted through the cave, he looked up, trying to focus. His brain was shutting down, he couldn't make out anything that was happening. Was his burning? Where did his father go? What is that floating, is that Kagome? He tried to move, he tried to get up, but it was too late, everything went black.


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